cardiac

cardiac

cardiac arrest sudden and often unexpected stoppage of effective heart action. Either the periodic impulses that trigger the coordinated heart muscle contractions cease or ventricular fibrillation or flutter occurs in which the individual muscle fibers have a rapid irregular twitching. The majority of victims of cardiac arrest suffer from ventricular fibrillation, and most have severe coronary artery disease. The only chance for survival for many who have unexpected cardiac arrest is successful implementation of emergency cardiac care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Reduction of the incidence of cardiac arrest and sudden death is a major concern of the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross.

Programs aimed at achieving the goal of reduced mortality from cardiac arrest include education of the general public in ways to avoid the development of coronary artery disease in the first place, and secondarily, training lay people and health care professionals and paraprofessionals in the techniques of CPR and emergency cardiac care.

Although cardiac arrest usually is related to preexisting coronary artery disease, there are other events in which the prompt delivery of CPR alone could mean survival for the victim. These include the cessation of heart and lung action as a result of drowning, suffocation, electrocution, drug overdose, and severe accidental trauma.

cardiac catheterization the insertion of a catheter into a vein or artery and guiding of it into the interior of the heart for purposes of measuring cardiac output, determining the oxygen content of blood in the heart chambers, and evaluating the structural components of the heart. It is indicated whenever it is necessary to establish a precise and definite diagnosis in order to determine whether heart surgery is necessary and to plan the surgical approach.

A, Right-sided heart catheterization. The catheter is inserted into the femoral vein and advanced through the inferior vena cava (or, if into an antecubital or basilic vein, through the superior vena cava), right atrium, and right ventricle and into the pulmonary artery. B, Left-sided heart catheterization. The catheter is inserted into the femoral artery or the antecubital artery. The catheter is passed through the ascending aorta, through the aortic valve, and into the left ventricle. From Ignatavicius and Workman, 2002.

Patient Care. Patients scheduled for cardiac catheterization experience a high level of stress. They are fearful and anxious because the procedure involves the heart, has a potential for some rather serious complications, and could indicate a need for cardiac surgery. Prior to the catheterization the patient will need to know that it is not a surgical procedure, even though a consent form must be signed, food and fluids are restricted, and a surgical preparation of the catheter insertion site is done. The patient should be told of these and other preparations as well as the physical features of the laboratory in which the catheterization is to be done.

During the initial assessment it is important to find out whether the patient has any allergies. The contrast medium used contains iodide salts; if a patient is allergic to iodine or seafood, a contrast medium that does not contain iodine must be used, or antihistamines must be administered before the procedure. A mild tranquilizer or hypnotic may be given just before the procedure to help the patient relax, but a general anesthetic is not used. Patients need to know that they must be awake and cooperative during the procedure. They will be asked to stay in a certain position, cough, breathe deeply, and possibly exercise so that the heart's response to an increased workload can be evaluated. They should be reassured that the laboratory staff is ready and equipped to handle any emergency should the need arise.

Ideally, preprocedure visits by the physician and a member of the staff in the cardiac catheterization laboratory will provide patients with the information they need about the procedure, its purpose, and potential complications. However, because of anxiety the patient may not be able to assimilate the information and will have many questions not asked at the time of the visits. It is then the responsibility of the floor nurses to answer questions as honestly as they can and to provide emotional support and reassurance.

After the procedure the vital signs are checked periodically. It is especially important to check the pulses distal to the insertion site every half-hour for three hours, or as often as required by protocol, to be sure there has been no clotting and obstruction of a blood vessel. The insertion site dressing is changed as needed and the site inspected for signs of infection. Thirst and diuresis are expected because of the effect of the dye used in the procedure. The patient should be encouraged to drink fluids to prevent hypotension and hasten excretion of the dye, which is potentially nephrotoxic. Mild discomfort also is expected and should respond to the prescribed analgesic. If the patient experiences severe pain the physician should be notified.

car·di·ac

(kar'dē-ak),

1. Pertaining to the heart.

2. Pertaining to the esophageal opening of the stomach.

3. (Obsolete). A remedy for heart disease.

[L. cardiacus]

cardiac

/car·di·ac/ (-ak)

1. pertaining to the heart.

2. pertaining to the cardia.

cardiac

(kär′dē-ăk′)

adj.

1. Of, near, or relating to the heart: cardiac arteries. See Usage Note at coronary.

an uncommon clinical procedure. May be performed via thoracotomy or with a biopsy catheter introduced intravenously.

cardiac catheterization

the insertion of a catheter into a vein or artery and guiding it into the interior of the heart for purposes of measuring cardiac output, determining the oxygen content of blood in the heart chambers, and evaluating the structural components of the heart.

cardiac compensation

in cardiac disease the compensation for the inefficiency of the heart's pump action by enlisting the various reserves of the heart such as hypertrophy, enlargement, increase in rate, so as to maintain circulatory equilibrium and prevent the appearance of signs of congestive heart failure.

cardiac compression

an emergency measure to empty the ventricles of the heart in an effort to circulate the blood, and also to stimulate the heart so that it will resume its pumping action. Involves the application of pressure through the thoracic wall. More commonly used in animals than other forms of cardiac massage.

cardiac conducting cells

specialized cardiac fibers modified to conduct impulses from the A-V node via the septum to the ventricles. Called also Purkinje fibers.

cardiac conducting system

the cardiac tissue responsible for electrical conduction, made up of the sinoatrial node, the atrioventricular node, and the atrioventricular bundle and cardiac conducting fibers.

cardiac depressor nerve

a branch of the vagus nerve composed of afferent nerve fibers which arise around the base of the heart; called also aortic nerve.

cardiac dilatation

the heart volume is increased but the effective mass of cardiac muscle is not. A dilated heart has lost some of its reserve.

cardiac dullness

the area of the chest wall over which a dull sound, indicating the position of the heart, can be elicited by percussion.

in the cardiac region of the gastric wall; branched, tubular, coiled, mucus-secreting.

cardiac glycosides

the glycosides of Digitalis purpurea (digitoxin, gitalin and gitoxin) and digoxin (from D. lanata). Strophanthin and ouabain are glycosides found in Strophanthus spp. Other cardiac glycosides are present in the skin of toads (Bufo maritimus, B. vulgaris), but are of toxicological rather than therapeutic interest.

enlargement of the heart coincident with an increase in muscle mass; an indication of response to an increase in load which may or may not be associated with disease. It is an expression of cardiac compensation but some of the cardiac reserve has been lost.

the volume of blood pumped per unit of time. May be calculated by oxygen consumption measurement or determined by dilution of indocyanine green or cold saline, using catheters with thermistors placed intravenously (thermodilution method). It can be estimated clinically by measuring heart rate, pulse quality or pressure, and assessment of tissue perfusion, e.g. capillary refill time.

cardiac pacing

employing cardiac pacemakers to control heart rate.

cardiac preload

ventricular end-diastolic volume.

cardiac pressure load

the stress of working against an elevated blood pressure in the arterial circuit; one of the two major groups of causes of heart disease; the other is flow load.

cardiac racing syndrome

a disease of companion birds manifested by a sudden increase in heart rate, up to 1000/min, in the period immediately after being restrained. Death occurs within a few seconds.

cardiac reserve

the reserve mechanisms in the heart to compensate for defects which could make the heart's pumping action ineffective. The reserve mechanisms include hypertrophy, enlargement, increase in heart rate and an increase in stroke volume, a result of the increase in muscle mass and the enlargement of the ventricles.

right-sided cardiac enlargement

may involve either the right ventricle or atrium. Occurs in heartworm disease in dogs.

cardiac rupture

penetration of the myocardium by a reticular foreign body in cows, or rupture of a patch of chronic fibrotic myocarditis in horses, causes cardiac tamponade and sudden death.

cardiac size

may increase as a result of hypertrophy, dilatation or a combination of the two. A common belief with some scientific support is that performance of horses in sprint races is closely related to heart size.

includes effective work—that needed for the onward propulsion of blood through the correct channels against arterial pressure, total work—includes all of the work performed by the heart including some involved in moving blood in the wrong direction.

Patient discussion about cardiac

Q. how does it feel to heart promblems answer to my question then talk to me

A. Heart problems may manifest as sensation of the heartbeats (called palpitations, as with rhythm problems), chest pain (usually a feeling of tightness or pressure in the chest rather than frank pain), or difficulty breathing (called dyspnea).

Other manifestations may include fainting (called syncope) either spontaneously or after exercise, edema (swelling) of the legs and various other non specific complaints.

The manifestations depend, of course, on the specific disease and the various characteristics of the patient (age, sex etc.)

You may read more here:www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseases.html

Q. What happens to my heart when I exercise? My senior told me that exercise is good for health and especially for heart. What happens to my heart when I exercise?

A. the heart is a muscle that constructs and pump blood through our body. like any muscle it can get bigger and stronger. doing exercise is putting pressure on the heart and the heart start to react by growing.

Q. Is garlic helpful in heart ailments? I have heard that garlic is very good for cardiac health and using in curries or cooked with foods will be helpful. I have also heard that it has anti-inflammatory substances and also helps in weight loss. Is garlic helpful in heart ailments?

A. It acts as antioxidant and reduces the amount of free radicals in your body. It’s helpful once taken raw. But the raw garlic can cause bad breadth and blistering of skin and diarrhea. So, there should be a reduced intake of raw garlic. It’s better to have garlic in a cooked up form like in curries or with vegetables. This will also give the desired benefits of garlic and the side effect of over consumption of garlic will also be reduced. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jOrw1eB-uc&eurl=http://www.imedix.com/health_community/vng-A24JmWJY_iceland_heart_protection_formula?q=heart&feature=player_embedded

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